My Middle School Bullies,
When I was in middle school, being bullied felt like the end of the world. Every night I swore the stars were going to fall out of the sky and the sun was not going to rise the next morning. Was I being an overly dramatic 14-year-old? Possibly. But then again, no one deserves to be bullied, to any extent, under any circumstance. There is never a reason to bully someone. Whether you dislike a habit of theirs, or dislike something they stand for, bullying is not the answer. In middle school I was fat, I was ugly, and I had no friends, or at least that is what you wanted me to think. However, that was not the case at all. To start, I was not fat. I was actually fairly thin compared to what I look like now. But for your satisfaction, I enjoyed hiding in baggy sweatpants so you could not see my non-existent love handles. Also, I was not ugly. Sure, I had a few pimples, but pimples certainly do not define who you are as a person. Plus, I'm sure you were not aware of the anaphylactic responses I was having to products with Benzoyl Peroxide in them. Thus, I had to let puberty take its course. And finally, maybe I was not the most popular girl in the school, far from it even. But I did have one good friend and that one good friend was all I needed. To that girl, wherever she is now, I'd like to say a quick thank you because you changed my life. Thank you for the Starbucks runs and for introducing me to blogs and character chats where we used to write our days away, I hope you are doing well. I am a better person because of you. But more importantly, thank you to my bullies. Without you, I would not have felt so strongly about leaving public school that I would have ventured into the world of Catholic school. I knew from the start that I was not one of you, and I needed an atmosphere where I was appreciated, encouraged to be myself, and where I could create a family. That is exactly what happened. Without you, I would have never met my amazing boyfriend, or any of the wonderful girls that I call my sisters. Without you, I would not have found teachers who genuinely cared about my grades, or be required to attend mass once a month with people who wanted to pray with me. Every day, in every class, before it began we prayed together, yet prayer was something you once faulted me for. I found a place where I belong because of you. Without you, I would not have found a love for who I was inside or a passion in what I believe in. As cliche as it may be, If I had known then what I know now, I would have been thanking you from the start. My world was never falling apart from your bullying, my world was simply beginning to fall together. So once again, thank you, because without you, my life would not be where it is right now. My life would not be exactly where I want it to be.
Sincerely,
College Me